Original artwork, not a still
The wind is rising! We must try to live!
— The Wind Rises · 2013
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The verse is the film's creed: keep living and keep building even when history, illness and war are closing in. Miyazaki borrowed it from a French poem, and the film uses it for Jiro and Nahoko's love story as much as for his dream of flight. Fans quote it as a short, stubborn pledge to carry on, and it is the line most associated with Miyazaki's farewell film.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The Wind RisesShow the scene
On a train carrying Jiro Horikoshi to Tokyo in 1923, a gust snatches his hat from the open platform. A young girl, Nahoko Satomi, catches it, and in the commotion the two of them trade the verse that gives Hayao Miyazaki's 2013 film its name, from Paul Valery's 1920 poem Le Cimetiere marin: Le vent se leve, il faut tenter de vivre. Soon afterwards the Great Kanto earthquake hits, her maid is hurt, and Jiro helps them to safety without giving his name. The English wording is the dub's rendering of the French. The verse returns throughout the film.
Sources (3)
- Studio Ghibli Wiki: The Wind RisesPlot, A Heart Aflutter; Source MaterialReference checked
- Studio Ghibli Wiki: Naoko SatomiStoryReference checked
- Wikipedia: The Wind RisesDevelopmentReference checked
Context reviewed